October has been designated National Cyber Security Awareness Month. As a result, Florida officials are cracking down on cyber theft crimes, internet child pornography crimes and other electronically-based offenses.
Florida is being targeted by both state and federal officials especially, due to the number of identity theft cases which have been reported to the Federal Trade Commission in recent years. While just over 8,300 of these cases were reported by Florida residents and businesses in 2007, more than 17,600 were reported in 2011. This jump has caused law enforcement to target Florida offenders in particular this year.
In fact, Florida offenders are such a priority for federal law enforcement that a top United States Secret Service director recently made a visit to the Sunshine State to discuss enforcement issues with federal, state and local officials.
Southern and Central Florida are considered the identity theft capitals of America at present, given that it witnesses more of these incidents than Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and other highly populous American geographies. It is thus important for residents to understand that law enforcement will be cracking down on identity theft and other cyber crime suspects in the coming weeks.
Commonly, individuals find themselves in situations where they behave with good intentions, yet end up in hot water related to cyber crime charges. If you are at all concerned that you may be targeted as a suspect for this kind of infraction, it is advisable that you speak to an experienced criminal defense attorney to discuss your situation and explore your options.
Source: Sun Sentinel, “Top Secret Service agent helps kick off cyber-crime campaign in South Florida,” Ihosvani Rodriguez, Oct. 11, 2012